Vidarbha need eight wickets on Day 5 to win their third Irani Cup title. Even a draw will be enough for them to lift the coveted trophy as they already have a first-innings lead. On the other hand, Rest of India will need another 331 runs on a crumbling surface.
Day 4 began with Vidarbha being on 93/2, having a lead of 221 runs. Anshul Kamboj bowled a brilliant spell upfront, picking one wicket in each of his first three overs to start the day. Harsh Dubey forged a gritty 39-run stand with captain
Akshay Wadkar to resurrect the ship. The partnership between Parth Rekhade and Wadkar didn't yield too many runs, but they managed to wear out the opposition bowlers by facing 55 balls.
Darshan Nalkande and Wadkar added a 35-run stand off 95 balls. After the former was dismissed for 36 by Kamboj, Nalkande added 17 and 25 runs with the last two wickets, respectively. The partnerships for the last three wickets yielded 77 runs as Vidarbha finished on 232 in 94.1 overs. Kamboj was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 4/34 in 12 overs. Saransh Jain, Manav Suthar, and Gurnoor Brar bagged two wickets apiece.
Abhimanyu Easwaran and Aryan Juyal came out to bat with Rest of India chasing a 351-run target in the fourth innings. Aditya Thakare gave Vidarbha their first breakthrough, sending Juyal back to the hut. Easwaran hit three boundaries during his knock of 17 off 18 balls. However, he failed to convert his start, falling victim to Harsh Dubey.
Ishan Kishan and Rajat Patidar dug deep in the latter stages of the day before rain stopped play. The umpires deemed that no further play was possible. Kishan and Patidar will resume from overnight scores of 5 and 2, respectively. These two experienced batters will have to step up on Day 5 and forge a significant partnership to help Rest of India muster hopes of an improbable win.
